Part 1.0: INTRODUCTION
Exponential growth of the internet in Latin America
The comments presented in this introductory section (revised in June
1997) can barely begin to convey the dramatic changes that have taken
place since my first attempts to compile a list of Latin American
resources on the internet in May 1993. The quantity of information
products and modes of access has exploded. It is no longer possible to
know all, or list all resources; the best alternative is to point the new
researcher to the best compilations and information servers now available
in the Latin American "region" of the Net.
I began using the internet in 1990, as a way to find information not
readily available from more traditional published sources. For Latin
Americanists, the internet now serves as a welcome tool to access current
and detailed information. The net has empowered scholars, activists,
journalists and others, to create and disseminate unique information from
and about the region to the rest of the world. Thus, the primary value of
the internet is communication: networks of people keeping each other aware
of events and activities; creating communities of affinity without
geographic limitations.
As detailed below, internet access and information in Latin America (as
in the rest of the world) has rapidly evolved from a restricted
academic/research network, subsidized by universities, governments and
international agencies, to a broad-based network open to businesses and to
any individual who can pay for access through a commercial provider. As
commercial use of the internet expands, it becomes increasingly important
to maintain the online space available to non-profit, local, and
independent information providers, especially those in less-developed
world regions such as Latin America.
When I began to research Latin American information on the
internet in 1990, nearly all sources came from the net itself--gleaned
from newsgroup postings and electronic conferences, from FTP archives, and
from gopher servers. Beginning in 1993, articles on internet resources
began to appear in academic journals in many disciplines, but 1994 saw the
literal explosion of the internet into the popular press and mainstream
culture.
The quantity of internet nodes and users has also expanded
dramatically since 1993. The Internet Society reported growth of 12% per
month in 1993, with full access and/or gateways for electronic mail in 126
countries. The internet was estimated to encompass more than 2 million
computers in 1993, with 48% in the research sector, 29% commercial, and
the rest in government, education and defense. In 1994, Internet Society
statistics showed that Latin America was the fastest growing world region
in terms of internet connectivity. Overall the region posted a 36%
increase in the third quarter of 1994 with several countries showing much
more rapid growth: Argentina-419%, Peru-171%, Venezuela-65%, and
Mexico-48%. [These statistics from the Internet Society are quoted in a
presentation by Yolanda Rivas, "The Cyberspace Challenge for Latin
America," talk presented at the Henry J. Faulk Conference on the First
Amendment in Cyberspace, Austin, Texas, April 18, 1995.
http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~seagull/hjfaulk.html]
In 1995, the World Wide Web became the most rapidly growing area
of the internet. The popularity of this flexible and user-friendly
interface also contributed to a huge expansion in the number of commercial
sites (the .com domain) as businesses saw a chance to advertise and to
sell products and services via the Web. In just one Latin American
country, Mexico, the commercial domain grew by 1000% in just 9 months of
1995. [Reported by the Network Information Center-Mexico,
http://www.nic.mx/evol/historia.html] For more updates on the growth
of internet access and service providers in Latin America, see the
networking page on the UT-LANIC web:
http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/networking/.
During 1995, the number of registered computers on the internet
more than doubled from 3.2 million in 1994 to 6.6 million in 1995. Since
each internet host may serve many end users, determining their actual
numbers is a guessing game. Survey data from 1995 provided estimates of
40-50 million, with projections of 200 million users by the year 2000.
While by far the largest numbers of internet hosts and users reside in
North America (including Mexico) and Europe, connectivity in Asia, Africa
and Latin America continues to show a high rate of growth. In 1995, the
numbers of Colombian hosts grew by 8 8%, Panama by 87% and Peru by 53%.
Brazil (11,576 nodes), Mexico (8,382 nodes), Argentina (3,270 nodes) and
Colombia (2,075 nodes) all ranked in the top-50 domains worldwide. Several
small Caribbean countries connected to the internet for the first time in
1995: Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and
Barbados. ["Internet survey reaches 6.6 million internet host level--first
half 1995 growth is 37 percent," Internet Society press release, 2 August
1995.
http://info.isoc.org/infosvc/press/020895press.txt]
Trends in 1996-97 indicate that the number of full-time connected
computers or hosts on the internet doubles every 12-15 months. By the end
of 1996, all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and Brazil had
established internet connections. One of the best sources for current
internet host counts in Latin America and the Caribbean is maintained by the
Costa Rican National Research Network
(CRNet), http://www.cr/latstat
The efforts of national and international organizations continue
to influence the development of Latin American networks. The RedHUCyT
project of the Organization of American States has played an active role
in Latin American and Caribbean projects since 1990.
[
http://www.oas.org/EN/PROG/RED/covere.htm] The Red Cientifica Peruana
(Peruvian Scientific Network), continues to promote the development of
national not-for-profit networking consortia within the region that could
work to develop regional infrastructure. [For an analysis of the
technical, socio-political and economic factors influencing the
development of the internet in Latin America see Jose Soriano, "Red
Troncal para America Latina."
http://ekeko.rcp.net.pe/rcp/_proyect/RCP-BACKBONE]
While academic networks have played the major role in Latin
American internetworking since 1990, the commercial sector is growing
rapidly and may soon dominate other sectors as local telecommunications
entities recognize the potential to profit by becoming internet access
providers. Networking by and for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in
the region has a long history, in some cases going back to the late 1980s,
but NGO sector growth may be hindered by the same forces that spur
commercial expansion. The dynamic between the commercial, the academic
and the not-for-profit sectors in Latin America will probably color all
internet developments in the near future. If multinational corporations
decide to apply significant resources to the telecommunications
infrastructure needs in many Latin American countries, such investments
could completely change the internetworking landscape in the region.
The importance of telecommunications and information infrastructure
were recognized in the Plan of Action signed by 34 heads of state that
gathered in Miami, FL, USA 9-11 December, 1994 during the Summit of the
Americas. Elaborated in Chapter 13 of the Summit's Plan of Action, this
section reads (in part):
"A country's information infrastructure -- telecommunications, information
technology, and broadcasting -- is an essential component of political
economic, social and cultural development. The information infrastructure
development needs in the Americas are immense. The governments of the
Americas intend to meet these needs by engaging in multiple actions...such
as: encouraging private sector investment...; promoting competition;
implementing flexible regulatory regimes; stimulating diversity of
content, including cultural and linguistic diversity; providing access to
information networks for service and information providers; and ensuring
universal service, so that the benefits of the information infrastructure
will be available to all members of our societies."
The plan goes on to enumerate specific actions to be taken by
governments in cooperation with the OAS. [
http://www.isoc.org/infosvc/international/summit94-plan-eng.html]
An important regional meeting took place in Lima, Peru in April 1996 to
discuss recent developments and establish a strategic plan for the
continuing evolution of internetworking in Latin America and the
Caribbean. The V Foro Permanente de Redes de América Latina y el Caribe
was a continuation and expansion of the cooperative efforts of regional
non-profit, national and academic networks that began with the I Foro
which met in Rio de Janiero in October 1991. Since then, meetings have
been held in Guadalajara (December 1992), Caracas (October 1993), and
Buenos Aires (November 1994). The V Foro focused on organizational issues
that can foster a united Latin American and Caribbean presence in global
internetworking activities and also examine ways that networks can foster
positive social, cultural and economic changes in the region. A strategic
planning workshop addressed such topics as: participation in the
Internet Society, the role of national networks, strengthening the ties
between national telecommunications providers and networks, the role of
governments, the commercialization of the internet, information content on
the internet, the development of a regional backbone and issues of
financial sustainability. [For information on the V FORO and previous
regional meetings see
http://ekeko.rcp.net.pe/VFORO/ ] . A VI Foro, held in Santiago in
November 1996 http://www.reuna.cl/vi-foro led to the
formation of the Asociacion
Foro de Redes de America Latina y el Caribe: ENRED,
http://www.reuna.cl/vi-foro/enred.htm. The VII Foro,
http://www.ceniai.inf.cu/VIIFORO/VIIforo.html is scheduled to
be held in Havana, Cuba in October 1997 in conjunction with Congreso
INFO'97, an international meeting with the theme: Information - Knowledge
- Globalization. This event brought together major actors in network
development with those who produce, create and manage information
systems.
Also in 1997, the Interamerican
Development Bank launched the Information
2000 Initiative to "encourage the deployment by the public and private
sectors of significant information technology applications by the Year 2000
in support of economic growth and social development throughout Latin
America and the Caribbean. Working with advice from the region and from the
information technology industry, the IADB has drafted a plan to promote the
spread of various information technology applications in the region." In
addition to sponsorship
by major international technology players (Microsoft, Intel, Oracle,
etc.), the IADB is working directly with NGOs and other
groups in the region who have spearheaded internetworking since the
1980s.
Growing awareness of internet resources in Latin American studies
Librarians and other academics have taken the initiative in making
sense of the vast array of resources on the internet through numerous
articles in professional journals and books. Panels have been presented
at annual meetings of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), the
Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM),
and the International Congress of the Americanists (ICA) dating back to
1993 which have highlighted internet resources for academic research as well as
socio-political and economic aspects of the evolution of the internet in
Latin America. In addition, training sessions have been presented at
several recent Transborder Library meetings held in Tucson in 1996 and in
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua in 1997. The LASA97 Congress in Guadalajara
(April 1997) featured a fully-networked PC Training Center and four days
of workshops on various internet resources and skills organized by the
University of Texas Latin American Networked Information Center.
Current awareness
Keeping up with internet developments in Latin America requires that
one become a participant in electronic conferences and constantly gather
information. LASNET, LASPAU-L, LALA-L, REDIAL-L and other lists provide
opportunities to share information about networking developments in Latin
America.[PART 3: LIST OF LISTS &
NEWSGROUPS]
Several sites on the WWW currently archive information, or
point to resources. The Red Cientifica Peruana WWW contains a wealth of
information on the past, present and future of Latin American and
Caribbean networking-- [
http://www.rcp.net.pe.] The RCP WWW is also a repository for
information in Spanish on internet tools and teaching materials. The
University of Texas Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)
continues to provide the best overall access into Latin American internet
sites as well as a clearinghouse for scholarly information about Latin
America--[
http://www.lanic.utexas.edu.]
See the following sites for links to Latin American internet services
providers (ISPs) and Network Information Centers (NICs), as well as
selected articles on Latin American networking:
Use of this Guide
This guide, Internet Resources for Latin America, continues to
evolve and provides access to many sites with brief descriptions of the
content and quality of the information. Part 1 of the guide includes
pointers to internet indexes and/or directories that provide access to
the Latin American "region" of the net. It also includes a very selective
list of sites for searching the Internet. The number and quality of
internet search engines increased dramatically in 1996 and the near
future promises even more advances. In fact, as search engines become
better, browsing guides to internet resources (like this one!) may become
obsolete. Part 2 of this guide points to specific information products
and/or places that serve as gateways into the Latin American resources on
the Net. Part 3 mentions a few of the hundreds of electronic conferences,
email lists and newsgroups devoted to Latin America-related topics. A few
carefully picked list subscriptions can be the best way to obtain
information about new resources when they appear. Part 4 presents links
to other resources ABOUT Latin American networking. I hope to develop
this area in the near future, adding more full-text articles relating to the
topic.
The information in this guide is not meant to be comprehensive!! I have
included sources I have found most useful as of June 1997. The guide is
also somewhat biased toward my own interest in social sciences, human
rights, and indigenous peoples, and has a geographic slant toward Mexico.
As of April 1997, many sites relating to the US-Mexico Border and Latinos
in the United States have been removed from this guide and added to the
new site: Andanzas al Web Latino --
http://lib.nmsu.edu/subject/bord/latino.html
The content of information servers changes constantly, with new sources
and new links appearing daily. The mercurial nature of the Net demands
that this guide be updated and links checked frequently, however, accuracy
cannot be guaranteed. Updated information, corrections, and comments are
welcome.
Finally, to "overgeneralize," we can arrange Internet subject guides and search engines on a
continuum from the most INclusive (the greatest number of sites included without any
evaluative criteria) to the most EXclusive(fewer sites but with more critical evaluation
for quality and reliability of information). Here are just a few examples (and there are many more in
each category!):
![[posada
print]](/subject/bord/laguia/calnews.gif)
![[image]](/subject/bord/laguia/calguit.gif)
![[image]](/subject/bord/laguia/tortilla.gif)
![[Posada print]](/subject/bord/laguia/silla.gif)